Sleep....... What is that?

02-04-2009, 11:06 AM

Ok, I am new to this site. I have been reading posts and discovering my little girl belongs to the "wake up every hour at night club". I feel like I have not slept in a year. Which by the way is how old my precious child is. I breast fed her for 10 months. I thought after she started getting a bottle she would sleep more at night. NOT. She eats stage 3 baby food and anything she can get her hands on. Grazes, no huge meals. So, she is not hungry. She gets 2 or 3 naps during the day. about 1 1/2 hour each. She gets super tired around 7/8:00 Yeah!!! getting her to sleep isn't the problem. She will sleep for a couple hours +- then as soon as I lay my head down and take a deep sigh she pops her little head up and cries. Oh by the way, her crib is in our room. so, I get up, give her a bottle which she will only drink 3 ounces of, then lay her back down. no problem.....till an hour or so later then repeat. This goes on all night. Then, at 6:15 my alarm goes off, time to get my 11 year old off to school. They love to play. She (baby) is a very happy little girl, plays and laughs, we have a good time. She is very bright, understands ALOT. She knows when her big sister is coming home from school. She will start looking around for her in the afternoon. My husband is a wonderful help. When he is home he will let me take a long nap. He cooks 99.9% of the meals we eat (because he likes to). Yeah!!! You'd think what's the problem then. I can handle it most of the time but then you mix pms, sleep deprivation, and a very active baby and you get a very CRANKY mom I have rationalized every morning with every excuse you could think of: she is cutting teeth, she must have gas, she has poo poos, she is hungry, she just got her shots, she was cold, she was hot, she...........
We were lucky to have my oldest in her own room by the time she was one. Next time you hear "no two children are ever alike" BELIEVE it.
So...... what is the best method to keep baby sleeping thru the night?
Any good ideas will help.

P.s. is there a key to all the acronyms being used? I have figured out LO but not much more.

it sounds like you're wiped out! i'd venture to say, though, that if she's getting 3-6 hours /day of naptime, then she's used up a good bit of her nighttime sleep during the day. around age 1, many toddlers transition to just one afternoon nap. so, i'd suggest cutting down on naps and see what happens.

also, when she does nap, you should be napping right along w/her.

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Paxmamma, thanks for the feedback. As for an update on yesterday (Day 1 of the experiement) I tried what you suggested. She got only one nap (about 1 1/2 hr). I kept her busy all day so she wouldn't fall asleep again till bedtime. It was hard on both of us. I put her in the crib at 8:00 and she immediately fell asleep. That part is never a problem. I went to bed earlier too, to catch up a little. She woke up around 10:30 for a repeat perfomance of every other night. I am exhausted.
Day 2 (today) She had one nap while we were out grocery shopping around noon. Slept comfortably in the front of the cart using my jacket as a bed. She looked like a little angel. So, I am hoping I can keep her up again till bedtime. In fact, I am hoping I can make it till then. lol Maybe the lack of naps will catch up to her and she will sleep longer at night. Crossing my fingers!!!! I will try to keep you updated and thanks so much for listening to me whine.

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Day 3
Woooooooo Hooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! We have made progress!!!!
One nap in the afternoon. Bedtime at 8:00. She only woke up twice before 6:00am (which is around our normal wake up time). I can handle that. I feel refreshed. Let's hope she continues this sleep pattern for a while. Happy baby= happy mom and vice versa. thank you